Episode 1487: We Remembered Some Guys
Date January 15, 2020 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Red Sox firing Alex Cora, the Twins signing Josh Donaldson, an uptick in online player pettiness, fans taunting the visiting Astros, and a baseball-themed Jeopardy! clue. Then (22:30) Ben and Sam Miller banter about baseball fandom as a form of family bonding and the appeal of Remembering Some Guys and conclude by remembering something about each of the players who just appeared for the first time on the Hall of Fame ballot. Topics * Baseball fandom and family bonding * Appeal of remembering former players * How Ben and Sam became baseball fans * Collecting baseball cards * Remember Some Guys * Phases of baseball fandom * Jose Valverde * Alfonso Soriano * Josh Beckett * Heath Bell * Brian Roberts * Eric Chavez * J.J. Putz * Brad Penny * Adam Dunn * Carlos Pena * Paul Konerko * Raul Ibanez * Chone Figgins * Rafael Furcla * Bobby Abreau * Jason Giambi * Cliff Lee * Derek Jeter Intro The Walkmen, "Another One Goes By" Interstitial Jenny Lewis, "Just One of the Guys" Outro Chance The Rapper (Feat. Death Cab for Cutie), "Do You Remember" Banter * The second part of this episode is the recording mentioned in Episode 1486 that was delayed due to the Astros' cheating scandal news. * The Boston Red Sox released that they had 'parted ways' with manager Alex Cora. * Josh Donaldson signed a four year, $92 million contract with the Twins. This is the largest free agent signing ever by the Twins. Meg notes that they will have a very powerful lineup and one without much positional versatility. * Ben is enjoying the pettiness players have displayed towards one another during the fallout from the Astros' cheating scandal, including Aaron Judge deleting an Instagram post congratulating Jose Altuve for the 2017 AL MVP Award. * Mike Minor tweeted about Alex Cora leaving the Red Sox, still clearly upset over the incident surrounding his attempts at getting a 200th strikeout for the season (discussed in Episode 1436). * The Staten Island Yankees are hosting a mini trash can giveaway next season. Ben and Meg are interested to see fan reaction to the Astros in the 2020 season. * James Holzhauer, guest on Episode 1371, corrected offered the question "What is lightsabermetrics?" to the Jeopardy! answer "A Kyber Crystal-powered weapon plus baseball statistics analysis system of Bill James". Notes * Sam wishes a happy birthday to his dad, who turned 70 on the day he and Ben recorded and helped foster Sam's interest in the game. In addition to his dad, Sam also credits baseball card collecting for making him a fan of the game. * Ben guesses that it was around 1997 (age 10) that he became a baseball fan. He thinks the first game he went to was a Blue Jays at Yankees game. * Ben and Sam discuss the impact of 'Remembering Some Guys', inspired by David Roth's video series on Deadspin where he opened packs of baseball cards. They review each of the players on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time and say the first things they remember about each player. * Jose Valverde: Ben remembers his save celebrations, Sam remembers him converting all save opportunities one season and being pulled from the closer role in the 2012 postseason. * Alfonso Soriano: Ben remembers his batting stance and home run in game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Sam remembers his being traded for Brad Wilkerson. * Josh Beckett: Ben remembers Beckett as being part of a big trade between the Dodgers and Red Sox. Sam remembers him as the 2007 Cy Young runner-up. * Heath Bell: Both Ben and Sam remember that Bell was traded from the Mets and got much better afterwards. * Brian Roberts: Ben remembers Roberts as a solid, all-around player. * Eric Chavez: Ben remembers Chavez for his back problems and excellent defense. Sam remembers thinking Chavez would be the 2004 AL MVP. * J.J. Putz: Ben and Sam just remember that Putz had "that one good year". * Brad Penny: Ben doesn't remember anything of note about Brad Penny, Sam remembers him as part of a young and very deep Marlins rotation in 2003. * Adam Dunn: Ben remembers his 530 foot home run and nickname Big donkey. Sam remembers that Dunn hit .159 in 2011 and that he was fast when he first came up. * Carlos Pena: Ben remembers his place in Moneyball opposite Scott Hatteberg, Sam remembers his breakout with the Rays. * Paul Konerko: Ben remembers that Konerko caught the final out of the 2005 World Series. Sam remembers him as a catching prospect. * Raul Ibanez: Ben remembers Ibanez blossoming late in his career and being Jeff Sullivan's twitter photo. Sam remembers postseason drama with Alex Rodriguez. * Chone Figgins: Ben remembers Figgins as 'fun, then not fun'. Sam says at one point Figgins was his favorite player in MLB and remembers him leading the league in walks. * Rafael Furcal: Ben remembers his strong arm, Sam remembers his speed. * Bobby Abreau: Ben remembers that he first got interested in Sabermetrics around the time Abreau was traded to the Yankees. * Jason Giambi: Ben remembers Giambi being "very sweaty" and having a big bicep vein. * Cliff Lee: Ben remembers Lee as a late bloomer and one of the best pitchers in baseball for several years. * Derek Jeter: Sam initially says he doesn't have one single thing as a Jeter memory but then names his negative defensive WAR. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1487: We Remembered Some Guys * Facebook discussion thread for this episode * Red Sox statement about Alex Cora * Mike Minor has the last laugh with Alex Cora by Bill Baer * JAWS and the 2020 Hall of Fame Ballot: One-and-Dones, Part 6 by Jay Jaffe * Let's Remember Some Guys by David Roth Category:Episodes